Group D of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup will take place from 14 to 24 January 2024.[1] The group consists of Japan, Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam.[2]
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Zone | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2023[nb 1] | December 2023 | ||||||||
| D1 |  Japan | EAFF | Second round Group F winners | 28 May 2021 | 10th | 2019 | Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011) | 20 | 17 |
| D2 |  Indonesia | AFF | Third round Group A runners-up | 14 June 2022 | 5th | 2007 | Group stage (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) | 149 | 146 |
| D3 |  Iraq | WAFF | Second round Group C runners-up | 15 June 2021 | 10th | 2019 | Winners (2007) | 67 | 63 |
| D4 |  Vietnam | AFF | Second round Group G runners-up | 15 June 2021 | 5th | 2019 | Quarter-finalist (2007, 2019) | 95 | 94 |
Notes
- ↑ The rankings of April 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Vietnam |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | Possible knockout stage |
| 4 | Indonesia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Matches
Japan vs Vietnam
This was the 13th time the two teams have met, and sixth since Vietnam's unification, with the last time being at the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification with Vietnam drew 1–1 to Japan away. Japan had won four out of five previous meetings, but three out of four wins ended by just a single one goal margin, with Japan's biggest win occurred back in 2007 when they beat the Vietnamese hosts 4–1; in the most recent Asian Cup encounter in 2019, Japan also clinched a hard-fought 1–0 win.
Japan kickstarted its run with a perfectly coordinated corner kick, which Takumi Minamino wasted no time to give Japan the lead with a shot in 11th minute. However, Vietnam staged a shocking fightback, first with Nguyễn Đình Bắc's brilliant reverse header in the 16th minute before a perfect set-piece attack of Bùi Hoàng Việt Anh saw Zion Suzuki mishandled the ball to allow Phạm Tuấn Hải to deliver to the empty net for a 2–1 lead in the 33th minute. However, Minamino would go on to restore balance with a low shot after an effort from skipper Wataru Endō in the 45th minute, before Keito Nakamura produced a brilliant long-range shot to beat Filip Nguyen and Japan reclaimed their lead at the fifth minute of extra time. At the second half, Japan increased their pressure and put Vietnam on the defensive, but not until the 85th minute that Ayase Ueda would finally secure Japan the thrilling win after a poor defending from the Vietnamese allowed Ueda to take the shot.
This was the first time since 2007 that Japan managed to defeat Vietnam by more than one-goal margin and, within their 11-game winning streak that began in June 2023, the 4–2 thrilling win over Vietnam was the tenth match Japan scored four goals or more. Meanwhile, Vietnam became the first national team since Turkey (also lost 4–2 on September 2023) to have scored two goals against Japan, but the first since Colombia (won 2–1 on March 2023) to have taken the lead against Japan. Vietnam were also the first Asian national team since Qatar in 2019 to have scored two goals or more against Japan.
| Japan | 4–2 | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
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   Vietnam
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Indonesia vs Iraq
The last time the two teams met was at the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification with Iraq's 5–1 victory over Indonesia. Iraq had never lost to Indonesia in the history with one draw and six wins, but it was the first time Iraq and Indonesia face each other in an Asian Cup group stages.
The match started with an excitingly high tempo when Iraq piled pressure on against an energetic Indonesian side. In the 17th minute, an attempt to clear Amir Al-Ammari's pass by Justin Hubner ended up deflecting to Mohanad Ali, and Ali wasted no efforts overcoming two remaining Indonesian defenders to hit the target and give Iraq the lead. Twenty minutes later, from a pass by Ivar Jenner, Asnawi Mangkualam gave the ball to Yakob Sayuri, who then passed again to Jenner before again gave it to Sayuri as he pulled a major phase over almost empty Iraq's left field and delivered a lethal cross for Marselino Ferdinan to struck an equaliser. Ten minutes later, at the seventh minute of extra time, a ball fighting between Indonesian and Iraqi players saw it seized by Zidane Iqbal before he sent to Ali Jasim; Jasim then took a powerful shot, although denied by Ernando Ari, it deflected wide enough to allow Osama Rashid to score and regain Iraq's lead. At the 75th minute, from a high pass by Hussein Ali, Aymen Hussein won the air duel with Rizky Ridho before skilfully took a decisive shot to give Iraq the win.
    Indonesia
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     Iraq
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Man of the Match:
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Iraq vs Japan
Iraq last met Japan in a competitive fixture occurred in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification where Iraq held Japan to a 1–1 draw. Their most recent Asian Cup meeting was in 2015 where Japan won 1–0. Iraq have never defeated Japan since 1982 nor even won a competitive fixture against the Japanese as well.
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Vietnam vs Indonesia
Vietnam and Indonesia have met each other 27 times since Vietnam's unification, with both share an equal 8 wins and 8 losses each. However, their most recent competitive fixture was in 2021 as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, which Vietnam won 4–0. Vietnam have not lost to Indonesia since 2016.
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Japan vs Indonesia
Japan will meet Indonesia competitively for the first time since 1989 when Japan beat Indonesia 5–0 as part of the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification. This is also the first time the two met in an Asian Cup group stage in the history.
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Iraq vs Vietnam
Iraq and Vietnam will meet each other for the second consecutive AFC Asian Cup. They have met in two competitive Asian Cup encounters in 2007 and 2019, both ended with Iraq's victories. Their most recent competitive meeting happened in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also ended with Iraq claiming the win.
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Discipline
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:
- first yellow card: −1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- direct red card: −3 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: −4 points;
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Points | |||||||||
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| Japan |
1 | –1 | |||||||||||
| Indonesia |
2 | –2 | |||||||||||
| Iraq |
0 | ||||||||||||
| Vietnam |
0 | ||||||||||||
References
- ↑ ""Match Schedule – AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023"" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ↑ "#AsianCup2023 Groups Finalised". the-AFC. Retrieved 11 May 2023.